


The Truth Shall Set You Free

by kdeutsch80



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, brief nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 11:43:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2347307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdeutsch80/pseuds/kdeutsch80
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peeta tells his teenage children the true story of how their parents first met</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Truth Shall Set You Free

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the amazing jlalalfics for challenging me in the Everlark Drabble Challenge! The prompt was "Peeta Mellark telling his teenage children the real story of their parents met, as opposed to the story they had originally told them."
> 
> Still making my way back into the creative writing game, so I'm sure there are mistakes. As always, I welcome any and all compliments and constructive criticism.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. All credit for their creation goes to the amazingly talented Suzanne Collins.

In his sleep, that’s when he would do it. With his early bakers hours, he would be up before anyone else in the house. He may not be as stealthy as Katniss, but he was sure that he could be quiet enough to creep into the guestroom and not wake Annie and Finnick. Fucking Finnick. God, he couldn’t wait to smother that asshole with a pillow.

Peeta’s hands clench into fists in anticipation of the act. It would be such sweet revenge. Then again, there was the knife that was currently in his hand, violently slicing through the loaf of hearty bread that had recently cooled. He wouldn’t have to wait a whole day to rid himself of the man currently occupying a seat at his table.

This thought brings him back into the present and he looks down at the loaf of bread. In his agitated state, he had all but massacred the bread. The few pieces that he had managed to slice were torn and jagged in places, while the loaf itself had a perfect imprint of Peeta’s hand wrapped around it.

Fucking Finnick. Hadn’t he done enough already? Now Peeta had to add a ruined loaf of bread to the list of grievances he currently held against the copper-haired devil currently entertaining his family.

“So let me get this straight,” he heard the man in question say. “Your parents told you they met at a college mixer?”

Peeta placed his hands palm-down on the counter and leaned into them. There was no turning back now. He knew that now that Finnick knew that his children didn’t know the real story, there would be no keeping him from telling it to them. Finnick always took pleasure in how he and Katniss met and would’ve put a full-page ad in the paper to tell the world about it if Peeta would let him.

“Yep, but I always thought that something was off. I mean, I love Mom, but we all know that she would never just go to a college mixer. She’s not exactly Ms. Sociable.”

Turning around in time to see Haymitch throw his head back and guffaw heartily, Peeta took in the group in front of him. Seated around the table were his son and daughter, both staring at Finnick with rapt attention. They always did think he hung the moon. Katniss’ uncle was still laughing loudly, having always enjoyed a joke at her expense. And Finnick. Fucking Finnick. Sitting at his table, with his children, wearing an expression that could be described as smug asshole and ready to blow apart the tame story that he and Katniss had always told their children.

If it weren’t for the fact that everyone had come to celebrate Willow’s seventeenth birthday later tonight, he’d pack up Finnick’s bags for him and personally escort him to the train station.

“No, social she is not. Your mother’s about as approachable as a porcupine. How your father does it, I’ll never know,” replied Finnick.

His son interjects before Haymitch can contribute to the conversation.

“So, if they didn’t meet at a mixer, where did they meet? And why not tell us the real story?” Finnick looks to him with that glint in his eye. “I guess you could say they met at your Uncle Haymitch’s place. As for why, I can’t for the life of me figure out why they wouldn’t want you to know the truth.”

Always the approachable and personable of the two, he had never mastered scowling at people like Katniss had. Peeta had never wished more that he had her uncanny ability to put the fear of God into people with one look as he did right now.

Haymitch had stopped laughing and the look on his betrayed that he was trying to work through something.

“Wait a minute, the first time you came to my house, you and Katniss were already dating. So how could you two have met there,” he finally asked?

“Ooooh,” Willow chimed in. “I want to know the real story!”

“Yeah Peeta, we want to know the real story. Can you tell us, can you, huh huh huh,” Finnick asked.

Fucking Finnick.

Sighing heavily, Peeta pulled out a chair from the table and sat. Resting his forehead in his hands, he shook his head.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you,” he asked his children. The silence that followed provided the answer.

“Fine, but don’t let your mother know that you know. And Finnick, when you come to me to order a wedding cake for your son, I’m charging you double.”

Finnick nodded his head enthusiastically. “Buddy, I’ll pay you triple. It’ll be so worth it to watch you tell this story to your kids.”

Taking in a deep breath, Peeta surveyed the faces watching him. His children stared back wanting to know the dark secret of their parents meeting, Haymitch eyeing him suspiciously wondering how they met at his house and Finnick anxiously waiting to revel in his embarrassment.

There was no turning back now.

_“Are you gonna do this sometime before we graduate? Cause if you’re not, I’m heading back to the party.”_

_Peeta looked over at his roommate. Finnick stood a foot away from him, a bottle of Jameson in one hand and camera in the other. Rocking back and forth on his heel, Finnick raised an eyebrow in question._

_“Hey, I don’t see you stripping down and making an ass out of yourself,” Peeta hissed back._

_Finnick let out a low laugh. “That’s because I’m not the idiot that made a bet with your brother,” he replied. He extended out the bottle to Peeta._

_“Maybe some liquid courage will help.”_

_Putting the bottle to his lips, Peeta took a long pull. The whiskey burned the back of his throat and warmed him from the inside out. Taking another sip, he knew that it wouldn’t make him drunk enough to lose his inhibition but maybe the burn could distract him long enough to not think about the task at hand._

_Why he had ever made that bet with his brother, he would never know. Not that it mattered much now anyway. He had lost, plain and simple. It was time to pay up. In reality, the payment wasn’t as embarrassing as the alternative would be. Really, all he had to do was run up to the large picture window that looked into Crazy Haymitch’s house and flash the old drunk._

_If he did it quickly enough, he could be back into the overgrown bushes in seconds, leaving the man wondering if what he had just witnessed was real or an alcohol-induced hallucination. Peeta felt pretty confident that the drunk would assume the later and he could go on with his life pretending that it never happened. Save for the photographic evidence Finnick was required to collect. But Peeta was sure that he could make that disappear later in the evening when his brother had turned his interest to the latest blonde to walk into their party._

_Deciding to stop thinking about it and just focus on the burn of the alcohol, Peeta gathered up his nerves. Stripping off his jeans and boxers and piling the clothes near Finnick’s feet, he’s struck by just how cool the evening air._

_Peeta took one last sip of the whiskey and handed the bottle back._

_“See you on the other side.” Finnick raised the bottle in a toast and Peeta made his way out of the bushes. Making his way across the lawn as quickly and quietly as possible, he noticed the fire blazing in the hearth and the soft oranges that it sent dancing along the walls. At any other time, he would have stopped to admire the way the flames and colors danced together with such intimacy._

_But this wasn’t any other time and being buck-naked on someone’s lawn wasn’t the time to embrace his poetic side._

_This was it he thought to himself. He just needed to run up there and get this over with._

_Closing his eyes, Peeta broke into an all-out sprint and made it to the window in seconds. He raised his fists and knocked on the windows hard enough to get even a drunken person’s attention. As instructed, he broke into yells of “I’m free, I’m free!”_

_He sure as hell hoped that Finnick had gotten this on film. Peeta breathed out a sigh of relief and turned to make his way back into the bushes. Distracted by a mix of pride and relief at having paid up on his debt, he didn’t notice that Finnick, nor his clothes, were anywhere in sight until it was too late._

_As the realization set in, Peeta took a few steps backwards. He stopped short at the sharp jab he felt along the top of his back. Spinning around to see what had poked him in the back, he lost his breath at the sight._

_Even in the moonlight, he could make out the set of narrowed silver eyes watching him. They were mesmerizing and he didn’t want to tear his eyes away. He was lost in the moment but the reality of his situation came crashing back down on him when he noticed the arrow that was notched in her bow and aimed straight at his heart._

_“Who the hell are you,” demanded the raven-haired woman. The angelic quality of his voice confirmed for him that he was a goner. He would tell her whatever she wanted to know._

_Bewitched by her beauty, Peeta found himself speechless. It was a sensation that he certainly wasn’t used to and it surprised him that she had this effect on him._

_“I said who the hell are you.” She pulled back on the string of the bow just slightly and it was enough to help Peeta find his voice._

_“I’m, uh, I’m Peeta,” he replied sheepishly. He was thankful that the cover of night kept her from seeing the blush rising to his cheeks._

_The woman’s eyes narrowed further and she didn’t relax her grip on the bow._

_“What were you doing at my uncle’s house? Found out he was out of town and thought you’d break in?”_

_“No! No, it’s not like that at all,” Peeta stammered. His nerves set in and he began to run his fingers through the mop of blonde curls on his head._

_“I was just, well, um, you see, fuck, this is really embarrassing.”_

_A raised eyebrow was the only response that the woman offered._

_“Ok, ok, here goes nothing. I made a stupid bet with my brother and lost so I had to run up to Crazy Haymitch’s window naked and yell ‘I’m free’ while my roommate took pictures of it. Please don’t shoot that,” he yelped, pointing at the bow and raising his other hand in surrender._

_“And you were stupid enough to go through with it,” she asked. Lowering the bow slightly, she let her gaze travel downwards. With the slightest hint of a smirk ghosting over her lips, she says, “you’re not very big, are you?”_

_Remembering that he had not a stitch of clothing on, Peeta instinctively used his hands to try and cover himself._

_Feeling slightly stung by her comment, he replied, “And you’re not particularly pretty. Not to mention, it’s really fucking chilly out here so I shouldn’t be judged under these conditions.”_

_The woman snorted. “You need to find better pick up lines.”_

_“Oh, no, that wasn’t a pick up line,” Peeta said. Feeling a sudden boldness course through him, he continued, “unless, um, you want it to be a pick up line.”_

_The sounds of foliage rustling distracted them for a moment. In the silence, they could hear Finnick loudly whispering Peeta’s name._

_“Peeta, where the fuck are you man?”_

_Turning back to Peeta, the woman lowered her bow. “Go home breadboy. And if you think about doing this again, just remember that I know at least three different ways to skin you.”_

_Walking back towards the house, Peeta watched her saunter across the lawn. A shiver ran up his spine. If it was from fear or excitement, he couldn’t be sure._

_Finnick found him a few seconds later. “Oh thank God, I thought maybe you froze out there and I was gonna have to drag your naked ass back to the bushes.”_

_Peeta blanched at the statement._

_“Shit Finnick, that sounds completely perverted. And I got cornered by his niece and her bow. I could have fucking died!”_

_“Shut up and put your damn clothes back on, I’m freezing and the whiskey’s all gone. Let’s get back to the party.”_

_“Yeah, I’m, uh, just gonna head home. It’s been a long night,” he replied._

_Peeta kept vigil on the house while getting dressed, hoping for one last fleeting glance of the woman that had stopped time for him. Finnick took in the look on his face and chuckled._

_“That must have been one hell of a woman. You’re staring at that house so hard that you put your boxers on over your pants.”_

By this point, Finnick was practically rolling on the floor with laughter. He took immense joy in Peeta’s embarrassment. His children stared back at him with their mouths agape.

Willow was the first to speak.

“That makes so much sense now, why you and Mom wanted me to stay here and apprentice instead of going off to Panem State.”

Finnick laughed even louder at this.

“Guess they were afraid that the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree!”

Peeta looked over at Rye, whose face was contorted in a weird expression.

“You okay Rye?”

“Yeah, it’s just, I can never unsee that mental image now. Ugh!”

“Dammit Finnick, this is why we didn’t want them to know,” yelled Peeta.

Finnick completely lost it at this. Peeta looked over at Haymitch who was laughing too.

“Boy, the next time you and the girl come to visit, you’re gonna spend a day scrubbing my living room window.”

Peeta rolled his eyes at the old man. “Haymitch, that was twenty years ago.”

“Don’t care, I don’t want to look out my window anytime soon and wonder where that smudge came from.”

“What smudge?”

The voice carried through the kitchen and brought a look of panic to everyone’s face but Finnick’s.

Fucking Finnick. He was definitely going to kill him now.

When no one responded, Katniss looked to Peeta. He knew he was screwed now. Anytime those silver eyes bore into him, he was back in those bushes and knew he would still tell her everything she wanted to know.

“Funny story actually,” Peeta said nervously. “Finnick here insisted that I tell our children how we met. The real story.”

Before the blush could even reach Katniss’ cheeks, she turned a deadly gaze in Finnick’s direction. Peeta laughed quietly and wondered if he could outrun one of Katniss’ arrows.

“Finnick,” yelled Annie, mortified. “What the hell is wrong with you? Willow and Rye didn’t need to know that!”

“It’s okay Aunt A,” said Willow. “It actually explains quite a bit. Though it makes me wonder now why we have so many bushes around the house.”

Haymitch gave in after that and joined Finnick in boisterous laughter.

“Peeta, I’m so sorry that my husband is an absolute idiot. We’re going to head upstairs now to wash up and start getting ready for dinner.”

Annie walked over to Finnick and slapped him hard on the shoulder.

“Aren’t we dear,” she asked him with an icy glare.

Still laughing, Finnick pushed back from the table and stood up. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop now.”

“You better apologize to your niece and nephew, Finnick, or so help me God,” Annie said.

“Really, it’s fine,” stated Rye. “I can never do landscape work at Uncle Haymitch’s ever again, but it’s fine.”

“Oh my God,” Katniss whispered, mortified. Covering her face, she sat in the chair next to Peeta. He leaned over and started rubbing circles on her back to try and keep her calm.

“Well then,” said Finnick with a shitty grin and a wink. “Maybe next time, they can tell you about that Halloween party the year before Willow was born. I’d say they got more than candy out of that trick or treating!”

Fucking Finnick.


End file.
